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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25070263">Wellness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctimon/pseuds/Arctimon'>Arctimon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:28:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,349</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25070263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctimon/pseuds/Arctimon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the exciting, emotional, and rollercoaster year Hiro Hamada has had, he needs to get himself back on track. Journey with him as he gets his mind, body, and spirit back into working order. Or...at least watch him try. Takes place after Season 2, with an increasing amount of Hiro/Karmi in each chapter. Chapter 2, Body Of Work (with even more special guests), is now up!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hiro Hamada &amp; Karmi, Hiro Hamada/Karmi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Speak Your Mind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. The characters in this story that are not BH6 are owned by Marvel.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Also note that this chapter takes place after "Alone" and before the events of "Highway to Hell".</em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span class="u"> <em> <strong>Chapter 1 - Speak Your Mind</strong> </em> </span>
</p><p>"Everything is so nice and clean. I wonder how they do it?"</p><p>"It's easy to do that when there's no students running around campus."</p><p>It was a very weird thing to be visiting your college institute when it was between semesters.</p><p>"Oooh, is that a new building?"</p><p>It was something else entirely to be visiting your college campus with your aunt.</p><p>"Aunt Cass, that's the Periodic Cafe. It's nowhere near new."</p><p>"That's where you eat, right? I wonder if they're open."</p><p>Hiro sighed. This was already starting off splendidly.</p><p>Of course, he could only blame himself...because the reason why the two Hamadas were even on campus to begin with was him.</p><p>Three days prior, Hiro had run away from home. In a fit of rage and depression, he sought to distance himself from everyone and everything in his life. He had spent the night in the park trying to get away from his problems, but through a concentrated effort of his friends and family, he was found and returned to his home.</p><p>Since then, the gang had been walking on eggshells around him. In retrospect, it wasn't a bold realization to make; they had thought Hiro had done something terrible to himself. He hadn't, of course, but he couldn't blame them.</p><p>After a day of emotional support from his friends (near and far), as well as a very touching and sentimental conversation with Karmi the following night, Hiro had woken up the next morning for breakfast. He had slept in a little bit, so the breakfast crowd (including the gang) had already cleared out by the time he got downstairs. Aunt Cass had her laptop out and was poking around on her keyboard as he walked up.</p><p>"Good morning, Hiro! How'd you sleep?"</p><p>"Fine." He was still a little groggy from waking up, but what else was new when his nights were all the same. "What are you up to?"</p><p>"Well, besides keeping your breakfast warm..." She shifted a full plate of food over the counter to her nephew. "I'm just wrapping up an appointment for you for tomorrow."</p><p>"For what?" Hiro asked, munching on his toast. "Dentist? Doctor?"</p><p>"No. Psychologist. Specifically, the one that your teacher suggested to me."</p><p>"Huh?" He had almost forgotten the conversation that Granville had with him about getting professional help. "But, Aunt Cass-"</p><p>"Hiro."</p><p>She had her hand up, but he also saw a twinge of sadness in her eyes. She smiled slightly to offset it, then spoke up again.</p><p>"We're not arguing about this." She pointed at her laptop screen. "In the e-mail that Grace sent me, she made it <em>quite</em> clear that you would not be able to go back to campus without her approval. I know you don't like to talk about your feelings, Hiro. But you <em>need</em> to talk to someone. And since your previous psychologist moved away, this is the next best thing." She took a sip out of her mug as she closed her computer. "Now, Wasabi and Aspen are going to cover the Cafe while I take you to school-"</p><p>"Wait, you're letting Aspen work here?"</p><p>Aunt Cass shrugged. "She was still in town, and Honey Lemon said she was busy working on some overdue stuff with her store. Beside, Aspen volunteered. She wanted me to teach her how to make the boba tea..."</p><p>The last thing that Hiro wanted was to see Aspen on a tapioca high while working in the cafe, but he kept his mouth shut. She must have seen the look of anxiety on his face, because she put a hand out to ruffle his hair. "She'll be fine. Beside...I have Doreen stopping by in case things go bad."</p><p>Hiro didn't know which person to feel bad for the most: Wasabi, Aunt Cass, or the customers that would inevitably have a front row seat to the craziness.</p><p>"Oh, stop. Doreen was great when she was here during the semester. Everyone loved her! Besides, it's only for a couple of hours. Now, finish your breakfast and get ready. They'll be here soon."</p><p>After the two arrived (and also after a quick explanation of the tapioca pearls to Aspen, who only squealed in response), an hour later Hiro and Aunt Cass were walking toward the door of Professor Granville's office. Hiro noted that it was closed. Maybe she forgot that he was coming?</p><p>"I wonder why she had us meet here?"</p><p>"I'm not sure why, Hiro. I'm sure she has a good reason." Her fist came up and knocked on the door three times.</p><p>"Come in."</p><p>She pushed open the door, and there was Granville in all of her glory, a large amount of paperwork sitting off to her right. She was rotating her wrist and wincing as the two walked inside, giving Aunt Cass a rare smile. "Hello there, Ms. Hamada. How are you doing today?"</p><p>"I'm doing fine, Grace." She glanced at the tower on the desk. "Probably better than you."</p><p>"Yes, what I wouldn't give to be a member of the student population and not the faculty population now. But alas, that time has come and gone." Granville looked at Hiro. "And how are you today, Hiro?"</p><p>"I'm...fine."</p><p>"That's good to hear." She set her pen off to the side and refocused on them. "Now, I'm going to give you a very particular set of instructions for your visit. They may seem a little unorthodox, but I assure you it is all for your benefit. When you get to the building, you are going to-"</p><p>"Is Aunt Cass not coming with me?"</p><p>Granville nodded at him. "She will not. Your aunt will be sitting here and having a delightful conversation with me about a myriad of things."</p><p>"But mostly about me, right?"</p><p>"...Yes, Mr. Hamada. It will mostly be about you."</p><hr/><p>Great. Just what he needed. His aunt and his professor having a perfectly normal conversation while he goes off and gets his mind read.</p><p>Hiro sighed and looked down at the campus map on his phone. He had left Granville's office and started off towards his destination: the building sitting right behind Student Services. But he had one lingering thought in his mind.</p><p>"...I don't remember there being a building there before."</p><p>Now granted, he never really visited this part of the campus. The only time he had to go to the SS Building was to get his ID picture taken.</p><p>Oh, and the whole incident with Fred and his conquest for a statue of the school mascot riding a goat. But he'd leave that story for another time.</p><p>Hiro turned left down the short path off the sidewalk. There was a pathway there, but it looked brand new and undisturbed. Strange, the map said he was right near it.</p><p>And then Hiro looked up.</p><p>There certainly was a building there, but it wasn't like any of the other buildings on campus. Instead of it looking updated and clean, the double story building was made of stone, ivy crawling up the walls. The roof was tinted a dark green, the circular window on it like a beacon over his head. The symbol inside looked like a tic-tac-toe board, only all of the lines were curved in random directions.</p><p>"Well. Here goes."</p><p>Hiro hopped up the short staircase and creaked open the wooden door. The lobby looked like the same as any of the other buildings: small, a few chairs along the side, a numerous amount of bookshelves on the walls...</p><p>Hold up.</p><p>His eyes took in his surroundings. Yeah, the walls were lined to the brim with books. This was <em>definitely</em> different. The receptionist desk even had a few books on it too. One was open to about the halfway point.</p><p>But there wasn't anyone there. Hiro took a couple steps forward, looking for any signs of human life. "Um...hello?" he called out.</p><p>"I'm here!"</p><p>"Gah!"</p><p>The latter exclamation was aimed at the person suddenly appearing from beneath the desk. The former came from said suddenly appearing person.</p><p>After Hiro got his heart back down his throat, he took a moment to take her in. It was a girl, probably a little younger than his friends. Her black hair was cascading down from underneath a black beanie, a few strands tangled up in her glasses. She ruffled the sleeves of her pink jacket and adjusted her hat. "Sorry! Didn't hear you come in."</p><p>If he squinted a little bit, the girl looked like she could be Fred and Honey Lemon's future kid.</p><p>"I lost track of time reading about ancient Shakespeare and unicorns."</p><p>...OK, <em>definitely</em> their kid.</p><p>"What's up?"</p><p>Hiro remembered why he had come and spoke up. "I'm here for my one o'clock appointment."</p><p>"Oh, right. The dean did say someone would be showing up today."</p><p>He looked across the desk at the cluttered mess. "Should I sign in or...?"</p><p>"Nope! No need. I think you're the only appointment for today." She stepped out from behind the desk and started walking toward a door he hadn't noticed before. "I'll let him know you're here. Go ahead and have a seat."</p><p>Hiro took a seat in one of the plastic chairs and continued to take stock of the shelves around him. A lot of the books on the walls didn't have any sort of writing on the spines. The ones that did were in languages he didn't have any hope of understanding.</p><p>A large, thick book to his right caught his eye. He got up from the chair and cautiously pulled it off of the shelf. It felt light despite the monstrous amount of pages. He opened it up to a random passage and looked at the lettering.</p><p>Hm. This <em>was</em> a language he understood. It was the one that Karmi had been teaching him. Some of the letters looked familiar too...</p><p>"I didn't know you can read Urdu."</p><p>The second "Gah!" was much more pronounced than the first, mainly because he didn't know the girl had come back into the room. He whirled around to see her standing right in front of him.</p><p>"The doctor..."</p><p>She simply held out her hand to the side, ready to catch the book out of the air.</p><p>"...will see you now."</p><p>And the book missed her hand entirely, falling to the ground below.</p><p>Both she and Hiro stared at the book, now sitting silently on the wooden floor.</p><p>"You have to admit." She pointed to her still-open hand. "It would have been <em>totally</em> cool if that had landed in my hand."</p><p>"You will have to forgive Zelma, Mr. Hamada..."</p><p>Now they turned to see the new arrival. It was a man, dressed impeccably from head to toe in a fancy three-piece suit. The man's hair was jet-black, but a patch of white was above both of his ears. Around his shoulders was a red trench coat with specks of gold around the collar. He adjusted one of the gloves on his hand as he looked down at the two of them.</p><p>"She doesn't get out that much."</p><p>"That's not true! I went to the grocery store last week."</p><p>"Oh? And what did you buy there?" he asked.</p><p>"Meatloaf mix. I'm gonna make some for my mom. Show her what a <em>real</em> meatloaf is suppose to look like. Food, and not like a tire fire..."</p><p>"If there is anyone that can do it, it's you. In the meantime, do not practice your cooking skills within these walls. The last time you tried something, it smelled like fish for weeks." The man motioned for Hiro to follow him. "With me, Mr. Hamada."</p><p>Zelma waved at him as Hiro walked through the door with the doctor. The room they entered was very similar to the previous one: shelves all on the walls with books, dim lighting coming from the chandelier above, and even an empty fireplace at the far wall. The window to his right was the same circular, tic-tac-toe one from the roof, looking to the lawn outside. There were two tall chairs and a large sofa in the middle of the room, accompanied by side tables for all of them on an ornate oval rug.</p><p>"Go ahead and have a seat anywhere you like."</p><p>Hiro bent down to sit in one of the chairs.</p><p>"No, not that one!"</p><p>He sprang back up and jumped away.</p><p>"Sorry." The doctor let out a laugh. "A little psychologist humor. Please, anywhere is fine."</p><p>Hiro slowly sat himself back down.</p><p>"Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Soda? Tea? I don't think you're old enough to be a coffee drinker, right?"</p><p>"No," Hiro mumbled. "Water's fine."</p><p>"Ice?"</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>A few moments later, he came back over with a glass and a mug. He set the glass down next to Hiro on the side table. He dipped his tea bad into his hot water a few times before placing himself down in the other large chair. "Now, before we officially get started, I have a few things that I want to tell you about what's going to happen."</p><p>He took a small sip and put his cup aside. "One, I take the privacy of the students that I talk to very, <em>very</em> seriously. You can rest assured that the things you say within these walls is treated with confidentiality. I will not divulge anything you mention to me during your session unless I believe it pertains to a risk of physical or mental health, and even then I will only tell Professor Granville."</p><p>"Two, I am not here to talk to you. I am here to <em>listen</em> to you. There is no progress made when I drive a conversation for an hour. Even though I am a adult and you are a student, Hiro, I want our interaction to be natural."</p><p>Hiro blinked. "You know who I am?"</p><p>"Of course I know who you are. I read your mind."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>The man laughed. "I'm joking. Grace gave me your student file this morning. Now, let me see..."</p><p>He pulled out a manila folder, and Hiro could see his name on the tab. The doctor opened it up and looked inside. "Hiro Hamada. Fourteen years of age, almost fifteen. Just completed your first year of school here. The youngest student ever to attend this institute. You've managed to accomplish quite a lot in your short time here, Hiro."</p><p>"Yeah." He didn't really have a response to that.</p><p>"You must be feeling a lot of pressure."</p><p>Now, Hiro had done this whole song and dance before. When Tadashi passed, Aunt Cass had taken him to a psychologist to help with the coping process. It was a very uncomfortable experience, but he had gone along with it, mostly because she had been sitting in the room with him. But now, it was just him.</p><p>And he wasn't having it.</p><p>"Look, sir...I know that you're just trying to help me. But I've already learned my lesson. The only reason I'm here is because Professor Granville is making me come here. Everything that you're probably going to tell me I've already heard before."</p><p>He didn't really know why he was being so standoffish about the situation. But he guessed that being told what to feel and how to feel it would do that to a person.</p><p>"Yes, I can see from your record that you went to another psychologist last year. That was shortly after your brother passed, correct?"</p><p>Tadashi being brought up wasn't what he needed right now. With a heavy sigh, he got up from his chair and slowly walked over to the window to collect himself. He looked outside, hoping to see the trees and maybe a woodland creature or two...</p><p>But all he saw was the tops of the other buildings, including the roof of the Student Services structure right next door.</p><p>"Hold on. I don't remember going up any stairs."</p><p>"You didn't?"</p><p>He found that the man had appeared right next to him, almost out of the blue. But his gaze was through the glass and not at the boy at his side.</p><p>"It's a matter of perspective, Hiro." He raised his hand palm up and gestured to the outside. "You may see it as me delving into your personal life, but I see it as a way to help you with your problems. In a way, we are both right."</p><p>Hiro stared at the air conditioning unit on the roof next door, silent.</p><p>"I know that it is difficult for you to do. But it is like what you said earlier, Hiro...I am here to help. I just ask that you give me this meeting of the minds a chance."</p><p>"I just don't feel like anyone can relate to what I've gone through in the past year."</p><p>"Well, you are both right and wrong in that regard."</p><p>Hiro looked up at the man, who beckoned him to follow. The two walked back over to the chair and repositioned themselves on their chairs. The doctor picked up his teacup before starting again.</p><p>"You are correct in the sense that the specific events that have happened to you are unique to yourself. You are incorrect because you are not the only person who has dealt with loss at a young age." He took a small sip. "I don't say that to diminish the loss you've had, but rather to highlight it. Dealing with loss is unfortunately a very real event that affects a very large amount of people."</p><p>He sat his cup down gingerly.</p><p>"Including myself."</p><p>Hiro sat a bit farther into his seat.</p><p>"I had a sister named Donna. We were very close to each other. We were practically joined at the hip. I remember stealing one of her medical books from her room and engrossing myself in the material so much that I didn't see her coming up behind me."</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>The doctor winced. "Atomic wedgie. The worst you could imagine."</p><p>"I've had a few of those," Hiro chuckled.</p><p>"Yes, the curse of being the younger sibling. Anyway, after I was able to place all of my clothing back in its proper place, she gave me a few more books to read. She started the journey of what I had hoped to be my medical career."</p><p>He very slowly clasped his hands together, and not even his gloves could hide the trembling.</p><p>"And then she passed away."</p><p>Hiro gasped. "I'm sorry."</p><p>"It was a very long time ago, but I appreciate your condolences nonetheless. It was a freak accident; we had gone to the river nearby to swim with our friends, and she overexerted herself so much she cramped and got swept in the current. I spent a long time searching for her, but my efforts were fruitless. That was the worst day of my life, but it also taught me that life is fleeting. You have no idea when your life will come to an end, so you must live to the fullest every chance you get. I decided that becoming a doctor was the best way for me to honor her memory."</p><p>He peered at Hiro over his hands.</p><p>"But my hubris got the better of me. I graduated from medical school and got a residency, and I spent the better part of five years climbing the ranks. I thought I could do no wrong. The lesson that I thought I had learned in my teenage years was becoming lost on me."</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>The man didn't move immediately. After a moment, he started pulling the fingers on his left glove. The boy genius saw a watch on his wrist, the face broken and the time stopped on it.</p><p>And then he noticed the scars.</p><p>His entire hand was littered with bruises and discoloring, turning his pale skin almost purple in nature. The hand itself seemed fine, because he still moved it like normal, but the pain on his face made it clear it gave him discomfort.</p><p>"I was involved in an accident. I had made a very poor decision when it came to my sobriety, and I drove my car off of the road. I survived, clearly, but the combination of the windshield and the air bad sent many shards of glass into my hands. My nerves were shot. Even with the latest in medical technology, my hands were never the same. My career was over in a blink of an eye."</p><p>He put his glove back on, wringing his wrist. "I spent a long time in and out of therapy and surgery after that. I became depressed. I secluded myself from the few remaining friends I had left. I thought I would never get out of the hold I had made myself. But I eventually dove headlong into a new field of study."</p><p>"Psychology."</p><p>"Correct. I went back to school, got a degree, and was fortunate enough to accept a job offering from Professor Callaghan here at SFIT. And I have been here ever since."</p><p>The silence went through the room as Hiro took all of this information in.</p><p>"I realize the irony of me saying earlier that I would listen to you and I have done almost the entirety of the talking. I am not doing a very good job in this session."</p><p>"No, you're fine, sir." He felt like he had to contribute to this conversation somehow. "I didn't want to interrupt. I just don't really know what to say."</p><p>"Just whatever is on your mind."</p><p>Hiro drank some of his water, now realizing how dry his mouth had been. He hadn't even been talking and it was parched. Content with his thirst, he set it back down.</p><p>"I feel like I have so much to live up to when it comes to Tadashi. He was so well-liked here. He was smart and funny and popular. I don't even know where to begin with doing any of that."</p><p>"Going back on your own words?"</p><p>Hiro shot a confused look at him.</p><p>"Even though I was not present for it, I did happen to catch your graduation speech the next day, Hiro," the doctor said. "It was very eloquent, and it touched on everything that makes the both of you special."</p><p>Hiro looked down again. "I just miss him so much."</p><p>"I completely understand. It is natural to have those feelings. But I want to remind you that you are not the only person who was affected by his passing."</p><p>"My aunt?"</p><p>"Well...yes. Her too. But I was alluding more toward the faculty."</p><p>The man spread his arms out wide. "Every teacher that I spoke to had only the kindest words for Tadashi. There was a reason why his name adorns one of the buildings on campus. He was <em>that </em>memorable."</p><p>That did make Hiro feel a little better. His mind drifted back to the day that he had taken him to school on the back of his scooter. At that time, he was still a brat who only enjoy bot-fighting. He didn't have any aspirations about his future. All he wanted was to be a kid. But now...he had grown up so much in the past year. He had met so many new people, made many new friends, and that was even taking into account everything with Big Hero 6.</p><p>Yeah, it had been pretty eventful. Heck, even this was something new. Something that not even Tadashi-</p><p>Wait.</p><p>"Sir?"</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"...Did Tadashi ever come here?"</p><p>Hiro immediately knew he had asked the wrong question; the doctor's eyebrow climbed up his forehead, and his posture became rigid. He uncrossed his legs and stared right at him.</p><p>"Remember, Hiro, when I told you at the onset that I take privacy issues very seriously? That is still the case."</p><p>He looked down at his knees, feeling bad for asking.</p><p>"However."</p><p>Hiro's eyes sprang back up.</p><p>"In this...<em>unique</em> circumstance...I believe that I can bend the rules a little bit."</p><p>The doctor ran his finger around the edge of his cup, thinking hard about something. Hiro waited with bated breath, his body moving to the edge of his chair.</p><p>"Tadashi did visit me. Actually, he visited me on a number of occasions."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>"Absolutely." He looked up at the ceiling as the details came back to him. "He initially came to me about a month into his first semester. He was very stressed about the workload of the institute, and needed to blow off some steam. We spent a long time talking about life and school and almost everything in between. I could tell by the end of the session that a considerable weight had been lifted off of his shoulders."</p><p>"He...never told me that," Hiro said.</p><p>"Tadashi wanted everything to be confidential. He did not want his new friends to be scared off...and I don't believe he wanted his family to worry either. In fact, I don't think he even wanted Professor Callaghan to know. It was merely me and him."</p><p>He couldn't believe it. Tadashi had always been the calm, stable one in the family. This was blowing his mind.</p><p>"After that, he made it a point to meet with me once a semester. Sometimes, we would meet more often when a particularly troublesome event occurred. But he was always open, always eager to share. He didn't want these thoughts to drag him down."</p><p>The doctor finished off the rest of his tea. "The last time I spoke to him was about a week before the end of the semester. It wasn't an official visit; he merely stopped by to extend his congratulations; I had accepted a second job over on the other side of the country offering the same services I do here. We spoke very briefly...but one of the topics was about you."</p><p>Hiro's ears perked up.</p><p>"He was worried about your future and what would happen to you now that you were coming of age. He spoke of your supremely high intelligence. He also spoke of your incredible ability to get into trouble. I told him that perhaps he should bring you around the campus to have your brain get a little kickstart. Tadashi liked the idea, but I had a plane to catch, so I left the conversation there. As such, I was not around when the accident happened."</p><p>Great. Now he was thinking about that again. Hiro wiped his eye as the doctor pressed on.</p><p>"Hiro, I can speak for a lot of staff when I say we were very emotional when it came to Tadashi. Professor Granville put it quite eloquently during the ceremony. He had so much still to bring into this world, which makes his passing all the more tragic. But we are very happy knowing that there will still be a Hamada here for us to teach for the foreseeable future."</p><p>A new thought were bubbling up in his mind, and they spilled out of his mouth before he could collect himself.</p><p>"It just hurts."</p><p>He didn't look up, but he could still tell that the doctor was staring at him.</p><p>"I thought that I had finally moved on. I thought it had ended at the graduation. But it never ends, does it?"</p><p>"...No. It does not."</p><p>The man's hand came down on the armrest, the watch slightly visible again. "Hiro, I do not have a magic potion or spell that can take the pain away. It is something that stays with you for the rest of your life. It is hard for anyone to deal with, much less someone of your age. I would hazard a guess that you have probably dealt with more things than the average adult has, and you've faced them admirably. That is why having a support group is so critical. You should not have to face these things on your own. Whether it be your friends, your family, or someone else in your life, you need to have someone that you can be able to talk to."</p><p>He was right, of course. Hiro even remembered giving that advice to someone a while ago. His room came back into his thoughts as he opened his mouth again.</p><p>"I told Karmi that. That it doesn't go away. The pain. I wish I had took my own advice."</p><p>"Karmi?"</p><p>"Yeah. She's a friend…"</p><p>No. That didn't feel right.</p><p>"A girl."</p><p>Not that, either.</p><p>"A...a friend who is a girl…"</p><p>You'll get it right eventually, Hiro.</p><p>"She-she's a-"</p><p>"I know what you mean, Hiro," the man cut in, smiling. "I am aware of who Karmi is. Quite the bright student, she is."</p><p>He raised his finger at him.</p><p>"I will not tell you whether she has come here or not."</p><p>And he lowered it back down.</p><p>"But I am glad that you have found someone to confide in. She is a very special person. Try to remember that."</p><p>He took the manila folder and pushed it to the table, getting up from his chair. "Well, it appears that our hour has finished. Let us go back outside."</p><p>"Wait, really?" Hiro took his phone out. Yup, an hour had indeed passed, but it felt like only half of that had gone by. "I didn't realize."</p><p>"Yes, time does tend to fly by when you least expect it."</p><p>"But I didn't even get to ask about-"</p><p>The man turned back to him, his hand on the doorknob. He looked curiously down at Hiro, slightly smirking. "About what, Mr. Hamada?"</p><p>"Oh." His cheeks were on fire now as he stumbled out a few more words. "A-about Karmi. Maybe?"</p><p>He tilted his head toward Hiro, the smile growing even wider.</p><p>"Mr. Hamada...I am a trained psychologist. I am also a seasoned surgeon. But I am <em>woefully</em> underprepared when it comes to the subject of women. I would suggest that you seek someone <em>else's </em>help when it comes to that subject. Now…"</p><p>He gestured towards the closed door. "You will be happy to know that I believe our session went rather well. So, I will be telling Professor Granville that she should rescind the restrictions that she has on you when it comes to this campus. However, I will warn you that she will not hesitate to put those back on if she deems it appropriate. Everyone is in your proverbial corner, Mr. Hamada. Do not hesitate to come by again if you need to, OK?"</p><p>"I will," Hiro said. "Thank you, sir."</p><p>The man chuckled. "You don't really need to call me sir, although I enjoy the grandeur of the title. Please…"</p><p>He extended his hand out.</p><p>"Call me Stephen."</p><p>Hiro took his hand and shook it. "OK...Mr. Stephen."</p><p>"Good enough." He pushed open the door for Hiro to walk through. "May you have a pleasant rest of your day."</p><p>The boy genius shortly found himself back out into the lobby of literature with the girl named Zelma back at her desk. She was deep into another book when Hiro stepped up to her.</p><p>"Hello."</p><p>"I'm here!" She threw the book over her shoulder to a growing pile on the ground. She clasped her hands together and made a comically-large, toothy smile at him. "So, how did you find your experience?"</p><p>"It was…"</p><p>He paused, not really knowing the right way to describe it. Luckily, Zelma came in, holding up her fingers. "I'm going to count off some adjectives and you can stop me whenever one of them is the best, OK?"</p><p>"Um…"</p><p>She started counting down, ignoring Hiro's confused look. "Weird? Off-the-cuff? Convoluted? Strange? I'm running out of fingers on this hand, so you may want to pick one."</p><p>"It was...good."</p><p>Zelma looked down at her thumb, her other hand hovering over it. "Huh. I didn't have that one on my list of adjectives. But I guess that's fine. Did you want to make another appointment?"</p><p>Hiro thought about it for a second. Yeah, things had gone well, but his brain was still swimming from the past hour. He needed some time to cool down. "Not yet. No offense."</p><p>"None taken. Here, let me give you his card in case you want to call." She handed him a business card, the same symbol from the house adorned on the left side. "Never know when you need to sit down and have a chat, right?"</p><p>"I guess." As he put the card in his pocket, he looked over at her. "So...do you go to school here?"</p><p>"Me? No! No no no no no!" She waved her hands enthusiastically. "I'm not smart enough to go here. I got to SFAT! I study linguistics over there."</p><p>"That's cool. It must be nice to work here and get to read all this stuff."</p><p>"Eh. It's fine for the most part, and then he goes on and on about shields and talismans and shrinking down to the size of ants and-"</p><p>Oh crap. He forgot about Granville and Aunt Cass.</p><p>"Sorry, I gotta go!" Hiro sped over to the front door and threw it open. "Later!"</p><p>Zelma suddenly found herself in an empty room, only the books to keep her company again. She sighed as she stared at the closing door, her hands on her cheeks.</p><p>"Ms. Stanton, are you flirting with the students again?"</p><p>"You didn't see anything and you can't prove anything!" she shouted at the doctor.</p><p>"...A simple 'no' would have sufficed, but I guess that is fine too." He looked around the room, squinting his eyes. "Have you seen the book I was reading before Mr. Hamada arrived?"</p><p>"Right here." Zelma pulled out a large red tome out from the shelf behind her and pushed it over to him.</p><p>"Good, good. I want to make sure everything is still good after our appointment."</p><p>"He noticed something was up, didn't he?"</p><p>Stephen turned a page in the book, thinking hard. "I'm not sure. He did seem more attuned to his surroundings, which is more than what I can say for the other students."</p><p>"Maybe you need to wave your fingers around a little harder."</p><p>"The craft is a bit more than just waving fingers. And you would know this if you didn't spend most of your time reading and flirting."</p><p>"I wasn't flirting with him." Her eyes went back to the door. "Mostly because you didn't give me a chance to…"</p><p>Stephen closed the book, not bothering to continue to go down that tangent. "Do I have any other appointments today, Ms. Stanton?"</p><p>"Not here…" Zelma peered down at a notebook on the desk. "But you do have an appointment at your other location soon. Wong should be getting off his lunch break now."</p><p>"Very well. Do let Grace know to alert me if anything changes."</p><p>"Will do."</p><p>Stephen put his hand back onto the doorknob to the back room.</p><p>"And try not to fall asleep while working on your studies again."</p><p>He walked through the door, closing the door behind him.</p><p>Zelma stuck her tongue at the frame, pulling out her book from before. "I wouldn't fall asleep if you gave me more interesting things to look at…"</p><p>"I heard that, Ms. Stanton!"</p><hr/><p>"She is being difficult again, Stephen?"</p><p>The doctor patted his coat down and looked around. Instead of being in his study, he was now in a completely different lobby. This one still had walls of books, but instead of the wooden shelving of Zelma's room, they were white and clean. The walls were bright as well, the lighting even more so. Behind the marble desk was an Asian man, his bald head shining under the light. He pulled his green coat off and threw it onto a rack behind his chair.</p><p>"She's getting there, Mr. Wong. Granted, it's taken a little longer than what I was expecting, but she'll come around eventually."</p><p>"Hmm." He had his own book in front of him, a dusty old tome with red jewels on the cover. "Rome was not built in a day, Stephen."</p><p>"And neither were you, Mr. Wong, so I appreciate a little bit of patience on your part." He glanced up at the clock wall in the corner, noting the time. "Is she here yet?"</p><p>His assistant wordlessly pointed to the now opening glass doors, and a young girl stepped through. She shifted her backpack as she walked up to the desk.</p><p>"Hello."</p><p>"Ahh, good to see you again. How have things been for you?" Stephen asked.</p><p>"They are moving along steadily." She brushed a tuft of black hair behind her ear. "I am still getting used to everything around me. But I suppose that is natural when you have a life such as mine."</p><p>"Of course. I'm glad that you have been able to see that. A mind like yours would be a terrible thing to waste."</p><p>The girl didn't respond, absentmindedly tapping on her eight-legged hairclip.</p><p>"But enough out here. Let us go start our session."</p><p>Stephen beckoned the young genius forward.</p><p>"With me, Ms. Parker."</p><hr/><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: </strong>Of course, there's no such thing as magic. Why would you ever think that? There's a perfectly logical explanation as to how the good doctor was able to go across the country in about two seconds.</p><p>He...stole...the portal tech?</p><p>Was that believable?</p><p>Oh well.</p><p>Ever since I saw the promotional material that showed R. Richards's letter to T. Dugan about Fred, I knew that there was more to this universe than met the eye. And the doctor seemed like a natural fit, with just a little bit of shuffling to make him fit a little better in this story.</p><p>After all, we need to keep things a little Strange, right?</p><p>Also...what kind of name is Zelma? Seriously? The things you come across when doing research.</p><p>Chapter 2 will have another member of that "family" so to speak, but we'll be focusing more on the personal life of Hiro Hamada and not the academic like. Which, in plain terms, means more Hiro/Karmi. And this person will be better equipped to handle those questions.</p><p>Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Body Of Work</h2></a>
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  <em><strong>Disclaimer: </strong>Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. The other new character that may or may not be related to the one in Chapter 1 is owned by Marvel.</em>
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  <em>In addition, this chapter takes place <strong>after</strong> "Highway to Hell" and Chapter 1 of this story. For the record.</em>
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        <strong>Chapter 2 – Body of Work</strong>
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</p><p>The day started out like any other one at this point.</p><p>Hiro woke up in his bed. Most of the time, it was to the alarm that he had set on Baymax. Sometimes, it was thirty seconds <em>before</em> the alarm that he had set on Baymax.</p><p>Because irony, I guess.</p><p>Every day, he would go downstairs and be surrounded by his friends. Go Go would sit and methodically poke at her choice of egg preparation. Wasabi would go down the itinerary for the day and try to avoid whatever crumbs of food came his way from Fred's mouth. Fred would be excitedly going over everything he <em>wanted </em>to do, and now that the secret base was one of their mainstays, his list of things was even longer. Honey Lemon, ever the mother and mediator, would try to keep the peace.</p><p>And Baymax would be behind him, monitoring his caloric intake and talk about he was still a growing boy.</p><p>This was his new normal, ever since they had come together to form Big Hero 6.</p><p>To think that just a year earlier, he was in the midst of another underground bot battle with Yama. And that Tadashi had helped him escape his grimy clutches.</p><p>And that Tadashi was still around...</p><p>"<em>Would you like to put forth your opinion, Hiro?"<br/>
</em></p><p>"Huh?" Hiro looked up at his robot. "What's up?"</p><p>"I was just talking to Baymax about we might need a <em>second </em>conference table for everyone else in the group. Push it right up next to the other one..."</p><p>"Fred, the next time we have an all-team meeting, which we probably <em>won't</em>, we can just push the chairs together. There's enough room."</p><p>"No, there's not, Go Go! There's not enough sides to go around."</p><p>"...Circles have an infinite number of sides, knucklehead!"</p><p>Hiro sighed. Geometry arguments were the last thing he wanted to focus on. "Where's Honey Lemon at?"</p><p>"She's getting final instructions from Aunt Cass," Wasabi replied. "Something about the oven being fifteen degrees off of the digital read-out."</p><p>"Shouldn't you be back there as well?"</p><p>"Are you kidding me? I'm not going anywhere near that thing." He pushed his chair away from Fred and his cascade of food bits. "I'm not burning my cuticles off."</p><p>A sudden rush of air went behind Hero; it was Aunt Cass with a handful of kitchen tools. She dashed right through the open cafe door past two very confused patrons.</p><p>The reason why his aunt was so worked up was that she had been invited to the San Fransokyo Food and Wine Festival just outside the city outskirts. It wasn't every day that she got to show her craft to anyone other than the people who visited regularly, so she was, naturally, taking everything in stride.</p><p>Oh, and her favorite chef, Bolton Gramercy, was a special guest.</p><p>So no pressure.</p><p>Aunt Cass ran back in just as Honey Lemon was coming out of the kitchen. "Are you sure you're going to be OK, Honey Lemon? Did I leave you enough kitchen utensils?"</p><p>"Aunt Cass, you're fine," the Latina said in an attempt to calm her down. "You just go enjoy yourself. We'll hold down the fort here."</p><p>"Thank you so much for covering on such short notice. I don't know what I'd do without you guys. I'm just going to run a quick check to make sure I have everything." She turned and ran back out the now well-used door.</p><p>"I'm pretty sure that's the fifth time she's done a check."</p><p>"Oh, she'll be good. She just needs to whip up some victory pancakes for everyone and all will be well! So, Hiro, about that conference table..."</p><p>But the boy genius wasn't paying attention to Fred. He was looking at the still-open front door, his fork tapping the empty plate of breakfast on the table.</p><p>"Hiro?"</p><p>Seeing Aunt Cass's worried face had set something off in his mind. He wasn't quite sure what, but it caused him to get up out of his chair.</p><p>"Earth to Hiro."</p><p>He whirled his head around to face everyone else at the table. "What?"</p><p>"Where are you going?"</p><p>Hiro took another glance at the door. "Nowhere."</p><p>"Well, that's a lie," Go Go replied, setting down her glass. "I thought you were going to work on some stuff at the base today."</p><p>"Like the conference table."</p><p>"Like <em>not</em> the conference table."</p><p>"No, Hiro was going to stay here and help me and Wasabi restock some pastries," Honey Lemon said. "He might have to go out and get some groceries later."</p><p>"Well, <em>I</em> thought Hiro was coming with me to the comic book shop. <em>Someone's</em> gotta see me make fun of Mole!"</p><p>"Sorry, guys."</p><p>The five at the table looked up to see Hiro adjusting the hood of his sweatshirt and stuffing his phone in his pocket. "I have different plans for today." He pointed over their heads at Baymax. "You have Aunt Cass's grocery list, right?"</p><p>"<em>Alphabetized and downloaded."</em></p><p>"See? You guys don't need me. You'll be fine."</p><p>"What about Mole?"</p><p>Hiro rolled his eyes. "Fred, Mole's going to be there every day. Can't it wait until some other time?"</p><p>"Hmm." Fred scratched his chin in thought. "I <em>guess</em> so..."</p><p>"Guys, everything will be OK. I just...I need to do some things by myself. Baymax will be here, so if anything happens, he'll call me." Hiro gestured to him again. "But don't actually call me, OK?" With that, Hiro walked out the door as it shut behind him.</p><p>"...Twenty bucks says he's going to Megan's."</p><p>"Isn't she still grounded?"</p><p>"That would be the perfect time to do it!" Fred waved his arms enthusiastically. "Under cover of night-"</p><p>"Fred, it's eight in the morning."</p><p>"Complete darkness-"</p><p>"No clouds in the sky."</p><p>"And unbeknownst to his friends!"</p><p>"Fred, he's not going to Megan's!"</p><p>Wasabi narrowed his eyes at the Korean. "And how do you know that?"</p><p>"I just know. So just let him be."</p><p>"But Go Go," Honey Lemon interjected, "What if he runs off again?"</p><p>"He won't because of the stink we raised the first time it happened. That...and I have a tracker in his shoe."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>Baymax interrupted with his finger in the air. <em>"I apologize, but I am detecting an adverse amount of water vapor and organic compounds in the air."</em></p><p>Wasabi turned his nose up and sniffed. "Yeah, something is definitely burning."</p><p>Honey Lemon gasped loudly. "My spinach puffs!" She ran back through the counter and the back door to the kitchen.</p><p>"...Since when does she make spinach puffs?"</p><p>Everyone else shrugged.</p>
<hr/><p>Hiro turned the corner, trying to ignore the shouting that was now coming from inside. It sounded like someone yelled the word "spinach", but he was at a loss as to what the context was. In any case...</p><p>The pickup truck came into sight, and Aunt Cass was in the driver's seat, pointing at everything in her backseat and muttering to herself. Her other hand was desperately trying to smooth her hair down out of the mess it was in. Hiro tapped on the passenger side door, and she wrenched her eyes around to her nephew. She reached out to manually roll down the window.</p><p>"Hey, Hiro. Something wrong?"</p><p>"No. I'm surprised you haven't left yet."</p><p>"I know, but I still feel like I'm missing something." Aunt Cass swept her bangs back. "Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I have to get going."</p><p>"Hold on, Aunt Cass."</p><p>She leaned over to look down at her nephew. "What is it?"</p><p>Hiro took one last glance at the wall of the cafe, then went back to her.</p><p>"I thought that maybe you could use some company today."</p><p>Aunt Cass's expression softened, and her eyes started to well up. "Hiro...I thought you were going to hang out with your friends."</p><p>"They can handle one day without me." Hiro climbed up into the seat and closed the truck door. "Besides, I...don't think I've spent enough time with you lately. It's summer. I don't have school. I should be out enjoying myself."</p><p>"You just want to come and eat a lot of good stuff, don't you?"</p><p>"Well, that too."</p><p>Aunt Cass laughed and ruffled his hair. "Thank you, Hiro. You can be my little assistant today. Now...hang on."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Because we're running behind and the festival's an hour away, so Mama's gotta speed a little bit!"</p><p>"Hold on a-"</p>
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  <em>One over-the-speed-limit drive and an entire day's worth of eating later...</em>
</p><p>Hiro and Aunt Cass were traveling back from their outing, bellies full and bodies tired. The equipment in the bed of the truck had been used thoroughly throughout the entire day, and some of the food remnants were still on it. But as Hiro leaned back in his seat, his only focus was the stuff in his stomach.</p><p>It seemed like every restaurant in San Fransokyo was at the gathering. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between was in attendance. After helping Aunt Cass get set up, he went off to wander through the various booths and demonstrations, and the free samples were able to fill him up tenfold.</p><p>A few hours in, the two Hamadas had gone to the giant stage at the end of the concourse for the main attraction: Chef Bolton Gramercy himself. The crowd was jam-packed as his voice effortlessly carried around his setup. Hiro didn't even remember what he had been cooking, only that it was insanely delicious.</p><p>But that did remind him of something he wanted to ask his aunt.</p><p>"You know, you still haven't told me how you got so buddy-buddy with that guy."</p><p>Aunt Cass's eyes were still on the road, but he could still see the smirk growing on her face. "You know that thing you caught me at last year? The underground cooking competition that weird blue ninja lady was running?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"The very first person I cooked against was him."</p><p>"Really?" Now she had his full attention.</p><p>"Yup. Beat him and everything. I also managed to win his knives. But after that woman got arrested and the whole thing got shut down, he came back to the cafe and asked for them back. Said they belong to his grandmother. I couldn't in good conscience keep them after that. And ever since then, we've kept in touch."</p><p>"Oh." That was quite the story. "So <em>that's</em> why he rushed you up to the stage when he saw you."</p><p>It was true; as soon as Chef Gramercy had spied his aunt's hair in the crowd, he had immediately instructed one of his aides to pull Hiro and her up onto the stage. A flurry of introductions and one kid's size chef hat later, the two were caught up in the cooking demo. The better part of the next half-hour was spent with Gramercy practically gushing over Aunt Cass's skill, her profusely blushing, and him awkwardly whisking up some weird concoction while all of this was going on.</p><p>"I didn't know he was going to do that, Hiro. I swear."</p><p>"Well, you didn't seem too bummed out about it."</p><p>"No," she said simply. "I was not."</p><p>A couple of raindrops fell onto the windshield as the sky darkened around them. Aunt Cass flipped on her headlights and turned down the radio. Hiro went back to looking out his side window, watching the lampposts whiz by.</p><p>"I called him, too."</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>Aunt Cass looked into the rearview window. "Remember when I told you that I called everyone that I knew when you ran away?"</p><p>"Yeah," Hiro said slowly.</p><p>"Well...I also called Chef Bolton."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"I'm not really sure," she admitted. "I was running out of options and I just...took a shot in the dark. I thought that you maybe had gone to <em>Gramercy</em> for some reason. I totally forgot that he had put the other woman in charge."</p><p>"Chef Ariel."</p><p>"Yeah, her. But I guess he called her while I was on the line to make sure you weren't there."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>They drove on down the road silently for a minute before Hiro spoke up again.</p><p>"Is that why he asked me about Karmi?"</p><p>Hiro turned his head toward the driver. "During one of the times you were talking to the crowd, he asked me how Karmi was doing. And he kind of...winked at me."</p><p>Aunt Cass's cheeks went a bit pink. "I <em>may</em> have told him about your night with her at his restaurant."</p><p>"Unbelievable," Hiro muttered.</p><p>"What? He seemed <em>very</em> interested in the whole thing."</p><p>"Aunt Cass," he yelled, whirling his entire body around to face her, "You can't tell everyone you know about my love life!"</p><p>Five seconds passed in dead silence before Hiro realized what he had said. He slumped back into his seat, his entire face burning. "You didn't hear me say that."</p><p>"Of course not, sweetie." Aunt Cass's attention was still on the road, but he could feel the teasing smile radiating off of her.</p><p>Hiro actually wanted to continue the conversation, if just to vehemently deny any sort of shenanigans with Karmi, but the rain was now coming down very hard, so he let her focus on driving. It was good that she had put the top over the truck bed the previous night; otherwise, everything tied down in the back would be soaked by now.</p><p>But they were about to have even bigger problems.</p><p>THUNK!</p><p>A sudden bump caused Hiro's body to lurch forward. Thankfully, the seatbelt stopped him from going through the windshield. Rubbing his chest, Hiro noticed the truck had come to a complete stop. "What happened?"</p><p>"I think we hit a pothole." Her arm was draped across his body. "Let me pull over and see."</p><p>The old truck slowly came to a halt on the side of the road. Once stopped, Aunt Cass pried open the door and was immediately drenched in rain. She slammed it back shut and shook her head. "Yeah, I can tell the front left tire's punctured."</p><p>"Don't you have a spare?"</p><p>"I may have removed it to make room for the dehydrator I used for Chef's demo."</p><p>Aunt Cass turned the truck off, and the downpour became even louder with the engine cut. Hiro could barely see out the windshield, and the lights outside were merely blobs through all of the water.</p><p>"Well, have any suggestions?" Hiro asked.</p><p>"We could talk about Karmi some more."</p><p>"About the <em>truck</em>."</p><p>"Heh." Aunt Cass pulled her phone out of the console. "My cell's dead. I totally forgot to charge it last night. What about yours?"</p><p>"I have a little left. Too bad I don't have Baymax here; he'd be able to charge it no problem."</p><p>She leaned her head forward, trying to peek past the rain. "Well, it wouldn't help, in any case. Even if I called the tow company, they wouldn't be able to get out of here in this weather."</p><p>"So, we're stuck here?"</p><p>"For now. Is that a street sign up there?"</p><p>Aunt Cass turned the car back on and hit the wipers. Even on full blast, it was difficult to see, but between swipes Hiro could barely make out the thin green sign on the pole. "Yeah, it says <em>Majutsu Street</em>. But I've never heard of that before."</p><p>"That's good. Not you not knowing the street, but the actual street. I know exactly where we are. Let me see your phone."</p><p>Hiro handed it over to her, and she quickly dialed a number, putting it up to her ear. He heard someone pick up on the other end, but couldn't make out the voice.</p><p>"Hi, Miss Clea? It's Cass. Listen, I <em>really </em>hate to bother you, but my car broke down right outside your house, and I don't want to be stuck in here all night. Is there any chance that I-"</p><p>The person on the other end cut her off and said a few things. Cass's smile got even bigger.</p><p>"Oh, thank you so much! You're a lifesaver! I promise we won't stay too long!"</p><p>Aunt Cass hung up the call and gave him his phone back. "OK, Hiro. I have someone on standby. There's going to be a business about a hundred feet <em>that</em> way (she pointed off somewhere toward his right). Big house, long wooden porch in front. As soon as you get out of the car, grab my hand and we'll make a break for it. Ready?"</p><p>"Not really."</p><p>Too late. She was already out her door and into the rain. A few seconds later, his door flew open, and a wet hand shot out and clenched his arm.</p><p>"C'mon, Hiro!"</p><p>He barely had time to hang onto his phone before he got yanked from the truck. The door shut behind him as his hood went over his head. All he could focus on was not slipping on the sidewalk. Several giant steps later, his feet hit wooden steps, and the blinding rain ceased.</p><p>Panting, Hiro bent down to catch his breath. He was soaked from head to toe; it was even worse than the rain that fell at Karmi's going-away party at Pierre's. His body was starting to shiver slightly.</p><p>"Come in, young one. You'll catch your death of cold out there."</p><p>A new voice hit his ears, but he didn't know who it was. Another hand was on his back, guiding him into the house. Before he knew it, a large towel was draped over his head, warmed by the dryer and relieved him of his chills.</p><p>Hiro swept it through his hair and straightened up. He was in a small waiting area, four wooden chairs lined on the outer walls. The walls were dark, picture frames on every conceivable surface. They were mostly filled with paintings of symbols, animals, or some combination of both. A doorway off to his left had a curtain hanging over it, glittering from the lights overhead.</p><p>Aunt Cass was standing next to him, her own towel wrapped around her body and talking to a woman he had never seen before. Her bright, white hair was held back by a dark purple headband, straight on top and curled at the edges. Her ankle-length dress was a navy blue with frays on the bottom, and the shawl around her shoulders was the same purple color. The pendant on her neck had some weird symbol on it, but it shined more brightly than anything else in the room. Despite her clothing and hairstyle, she still looked relatively young, maybe a little bit older than Aunt Cass.</p><p>"Thank you again, Miss Clea. I know that we're barging in here and interrupting your night."</p><p>"Do not worry, my dear. Everything happens for a reason." Her voice was calm and soothing, almost rhythmic. She tapped her pendent as she stared at the two. "I am just glad the two of you are alright. Come." She motioned off behind her, where there was a set of stairs Hiro hadn't noticed before. "I have some tea for you upstairs."</p><p>After climbing up to the second story, Hiro was greeted by a much different décor than downstairs. They walked into a very large living room, the walls and poofy furniture both white. A large clear coffee table was in the center with two steaming mugs and a teacup on coasters. As he sat down, he looked off to his left to see a bunch of potted plants on the ground and smaller tables to his left. A doorway in the wall in front of him was open, leading into a small kitchen. The giant floor-to-ceiling window to his right had rain slapping against it, the darkness even more pronounced with the light inside.</p><p>Aunt Cass was already halfway through her mug, so Hiro took a sip from his. The warm liquid instantly made his body feel much better than before. Now he could actually pay attention to what she was saying.</p><p>"You <em>have</em> to tell me what kind of tea this is. I've only ever had this here, and I can never duplicate the recipe at the cafe."</p><p>"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that," the woman said dismissively. "I'm sure you will work it out eventually."</p><p>She touched her pendant again, and Hiro was able to see the symbol now: it was three small circles, all linked with each other. Two were on top and one was on the bottom, forming a pseudo triangle. It looked like they were shining as well…</p><p>"Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even properly introduced you." Aunt Cass's hand came onto his shoulder and pulled him closer to her. "Miss Clea, this is my nephew Hiro. Hiro, this is one of my...associates? Miss Clea."</p><p>"Associate is a good term, yes." She nodded at him. "A pleasure to meet you."</p><p>The name was sounding vaguely familiar. It wasn't a very common name, given his own social circle. But he vaguely remembered Aunt Cass coming home from running weekend errands recently raving about her astrological house and her heart line and what not. Hiro had been busy trying to stuff his superhero helmet into his back so that she didn't see it, so not all of the details of her diatribe were known, but it was enough for this instance.</p><p>"I think Aunt Cass has mentioned you at home. You...read fortunes?"</p><p>"I do more than just that, Hiro." Clea cradled her teacup in her hands. "I provide a various amount of services for my patrons, up to but not limited to palmistry, astromancy, spirit board reading, and tasseography. Which reminds me, I need to restock on my tea leaves…"</p><p>"Do you also see things in a crystal ball, too?"</p><p>"Hiro, don't be rude."</p><p>"He's fine, Cassandra. Asking questions is something I wish everyone who walks into my doors does." She brought the mug up to her lips, smiling. "And besides, I cannot do that now. It cracked last week and I need to get a new one."</p><p>Aunt Cass cut in before he could say anything else. "Wouldn't it be a great idea if you read Hiro's fortune, Miss Clea? He would <em>love</em> that."</p><p>No, Hiro would not love that. Fred had tried that once with a book he picked up from some magic shop; he had spent the better part of twenty minutes staring at Hiro's palm before his eyes started glazing over.</p><p>And besides, he didn't believe in that sort of thing. It was all a bunch of nonsense. His brain was rooted in concrete things, like physics and robotics, not the stars and pure guessing.</p><p>The woman must have noticed Hiro's attention wandering off, because she poked at her tablet to bring up a weather map. "Well, it appears that the storm is going away rather quickly. Do you want to try calling someone to take a look at your car?"</p><p>"Yeah, I better. We're going to need a tow. Where's your phone at?"</p><p>"You can use the one at the desk downstairs."</p><p>"Thank you so much, Clea. I'll call them right now." She got up from the couch and started walking back toward the stairs. "Hiro, stay up here and get yourself dry."</p><p>As Aunt Cass exited, Hiro turned back around to see Clea staring at him over her teacup. It wasn't an angry look; it was inquisitive more than anything. Panicking slightly, he grabbed his own drink and started gulping it down.</p><p>"Quite an eccentric character, your aunt is."</p><p>"Mmm." The mouth full of liquid wasn't capable of articulating much else.</p><p>"She mentions you quite a bit whenever she comes and visits me. Goes on about your intelligence and kindness. Such a smart boy for someone so young."</p><p>"Oh." Now he felt bad for insulting her craft. "Thanks."</p><p>"You remind me of my daughter a fair bit." She pointed to a picture frame on the windowsill, and Hiro saw a photo of a young girl. She had black shoulder-length hair with a white streak running down the left side of it, a bright orange scarf around her neck. She was smiling widely at the camera as she held up a diploma. "Sofia's a few years older than you, but also very bright. She just graduated high school and got accepted into one of the best medical facilities in Riorleans. She wants to become a doctor. Always an overachiever, just like her parents. Not much of a believer in what I do, but she'll come around. They always do."</p><p>He had a suspicion as to who else was being lumped in that "they".</p><p>"I'm assuming that you don't take very much stock in what I do, do you? In the unexplained?"</p><p>"Not really, no," he answered quickly.</p><p>"But you <em>have </em>seen things recently that fit that category. Things that you can't diagnose as science or nature. Haven't you?"</p><p>He had. Or at least Go Go had. Seeing the Korean's newly minted boyfriend go on and on about being possessed by a supposed demonic spirit would cause anyone to be skeptical about the world. But it was still so unbelievable. His head couldn't wrap around it.</p><p>"Sorry. That was harsh of me to say. I didn't mean to insult you earlier."</p><p>"I don't take any offense. A lot of people that come in are skeptical. The only thing I ask is for them to keep an open mind. Just like yourself." The woman set her teacup down. "Tell me, Hiro. Your aunt mentioned that you are a robotics major at SFIT. You know a lot about a lot of things. Would it be fair to say that you don't know a lot about divination?"</p><p>"Sure." He didn't know where she was going with this.</p><p>"What does a knowledgeable person do when they don't know about a particular subject?"</p><p>Oh.</p><p>"I will take your silence as your answer." The woman smiled. "But just to humor myself, I'll say it. They try to find an opportunity to enrich themselves. Or, if you'll forgive my ironic wording, the opportunity comes up to the door. So..."</p><p>Hiro watched as she opened the drawer of her side table and pulled out a small worn box. She opened the flap and a deck of large cards cascaded down into her hand. The backs of them were white and blue, still pristine as if they were brand new. She brought them up to her face, her blue eyes gazing at the boy genius.</p><p>"Would you like to enrich yourself for a little bit while we wait for your aunt?"</p><p>Well, it wasn't like he was going anywhere. Hiro silently nodded, and Clea set the deck down on the coffee table and gestured toward him. "Go ahead and take a look at them, if you like."</p><p>Hiro grabbed a couple off of the top and examined them. The first one had a blindfolded woman sitting in a chair, a word in either hand. The other had a girl bending down to pet a lion, towering over the landscape. It had a II written on top, and "STRENGTH" on the bottom. The drawings looked simple enough, the colors bright and bleeding into the black borders around the objects.</p><p>"Now, I want you to shuffle those cards for me. It's been a bit since I've used them, and I want to make sure they're thoroughly mixed."</p><p>Carefully, Hiro picked the deck up and split them into two piles, riffling them together. As he prepared them again, the woman laughed softly. "Yes, I much prefer that as opposed to overhanding them. Takes less time, and I don't have to keep people waiting with bated breath."</p><p>Hiro's thumb slipped, and the rest of his hand pushed a pile onto the carpet. "Sorry," he said as he reached under the glass. "Some of them might be upside down."</p><p>"That is quite alright, Hiro. Perhaps it's better that way."</p><p>He put the cards that were on the floor down and shuffled it one last time, returning it to one big pile. Clea smiled, seemingly satisfied. "Now, if you could just cut the deck for me. So that <em>I</em> know that they're random."</p><p>Hiro picked about a third of the deck up and put it at the bottom.</p><p>"Very good. Now, I want you to pick three cards out and place them face down from your left to your right one at a time." She pointed to the table to the according spots. "And this part is important. I do not want you to look at them."</p><p>He slowly took three cards out of the deck, trying to pick one from the top, middle, and bottom. He set them down in the way she requested, handing the rest back to Clea.</p><p>"Thank you." She put the cards aside, returning her attention to Hiro. "Now, I just want to reiterate that I only touched this deck twice: once to take it out, and once to take it from you. At no point did I shuffle, reverse, or pick any of the cards. You choose what to do and what manner to do it in."</p><p>Hiro nodded.</p><p>"For the final part, I want you to think of something that's happening in your life. A decision that's been troubling you. A path that you're not sure what to take in the future."</p><p>He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander.</p><p>"Perhaps a special someone that you have in your life."</p><p>His mind came to a screeching halt back to a very familiar place. A brown-haired, brown-eyed, sweater-wearing place.</p><p>"But I am judging. You are young. You would probably not have a person like that-"</p><p>"There is."</p><p>Hiro opened his right eye to see Clea staring back at him, an eyebrow raised.</p><p>"I-I mean, there's someone that I know that's...special to me." Hiro clasped his hands together. "And...as someone who doesn't believe in this sort of thing, I guess it would be interesting to see what you thought of it. You know, without you knowing anything about me."</p><p>The woman leaned forward in her chair, now fully intrigued. "So you wish to know about your possible romantic relationship?"</p><p>"It's not one," he added quickly.</p><p>Clea looked at him harder.</p><p>"I...don't think it is?"</p><p>She laughed at him and scooted her body closer to the table. "Well, let's see what I can surmise from your choices." She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a pair of very small rounded glasses, pushing them up onto her nose. She pulled at her headband, her hair flowing down to past her shoulders. "Would you like me to get into my persona?"</p><p>"Uhhh…"</p><p>"Or maybe this persona." She now had a much large pair of glasses on, her eyes grown to almost comical levels.</p><p>Hiro blinked at her.</p><p>"Yes, maybe it would be best if I did this as my normal self." Chuckling, she returned the small glasses to her nose and pointed to each of the cards in front of them. "The card to your left will represent you. The card to the right will represent the other person you speak of. The center card will represent your relationship. We could use a different spread of the cards to go more in-depth, but that would take all evening, and I have a feeling you would not want your aunt over your shoulder exclaiming about your query."</p><p>"No. I don't." Hiro smiled slightly. "She already does that enough."</p><p>"I can imagine." She gestured toward the table. "Do you wish for me to show them to you individually or at once?"</p><p>"At once."</p><p>"Very well."</p><p>Hiro had to admit that he was somewhat intrigued by the woman's offering. He didn't actively seek out this sort of thing like Aunt Cass, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. For a subject that had no technological backing, it seemed interesting enough.</p><p>"Hmmm. How fascinating."</p><p>He hadn't been paying attention, so he quickly focused on Clea and noticed her looking down at the now face-up cards. He followed her gaze and noticed the details on them: the left card had a man leaning on a hoe and staring down at his crops, seven circles crowded upon them. The second had an armored person on a black horse, mounted on what appeared to be a hill. He was also holding something in his hand. The third had a woman sitting on a throne, surrounded by roses and a bunny in the bottom corner. Both the first and last cards were facing away from him, which was weird.</p><p>The <em>weirder</em> thing was that they all had the same symbol on them: a circle with a star layered inside.</p><p>"That <em>is</em> interesting."</p><p>Hiro looked back up at her. "How so?"</p><p>Her eyes came up to meet his. "Well, speaking from a mathematical standpoint, it is quite rare for someone to pick the same Minor Arcana three times in a row."</p><p>"It is?"</p><p>"Yes." Clea tapped the top of the deck with her pinkie. "There are seventy-eight cards in a standard tarot deck. There are fourteen cards of each Minor Arcana: the swords, the wands, the cups, and in your case..." She pointed to the circle symbol on the first card. "The pentacles. In fact, the probability of that happening is roughly..."</p><p>Clea waved her finger in the air, doing some mental math.</p><p>"Point four seven eight four seven percent."</p><p>"How did you do that in your head so fast?" Hiro asked.</p><p>She smirked at his facial expression. "My dear, I assure you that the diplomas that I have on my wall are not merely for show." She titled her head to the space behind her, where he saw two large frames up on the wall he hadn't noticed before, both of them adorned with very fancy writing and seals. "Although my teachers at Neo York University also did not believe I could dual major in mathematics and cosmology. But enough of me being braggadocious..."</p><p>The woman adjusted her glasses. "The first thing that I've noticed, and I'm sure you have as well, is that each card is a member of the Pentacles Minor Arcana. It represents material things: wealth, family, careers, etcetera. Since it's so strongly represented here, perhaps you and your other view the relationship as something calculable. A physical thing and perhaps an emotional state just yet."</p><p>He didn't respond.</p><p>"Pentacles also represent people with a darker complexion, perhaps with darker hair and eyes as well. Tell me, does she...she?"</p><p>Hiro had to dig down into his throat to find his voice. "Yeah. It's a she."</p><p>Clea grinned at him. "I just want to make sure. People come in with all sorts of questions about all sorts of people. It's not my place to judge." She returned her train of thought to the matter on the table. "Does she have a dark complexion? Eyes? Hair?"</p><p>He half wanted to tell her that she was wrong just to see her reaction, but the words had retreated back down into his chest. He eventually managed to get three out. "All of those."</p><p>"How intriguing."</p><p>She tapped the leftmost card. "You are represented by the Seven of Pentacles in the reverse position. In the normal position, it would mean that your situation has paid off. You are standing back and admiring your rewards, as you can see the man is doing here. Reversed, it is-"</p><p>"Bad?" Hiro said.</p><p>"Not necessarily. It simply means that you still have a lot of work left to do, and you may not have a clear view as to where you want to go with your relationship. You are at a pause, and you're not sure how to restart it. However, the card itself is a good one to have; you have had success before, and it can be duplicated." Clea pointed her palms at each other. "However, you must learn to disseminate between the many things going on in your life. Focus on what is important to you, and success will come your way." She wrapped her shawl around her a little tighter. "From what your aunt has told me, you can be rather quick when it comes to your decision-making. Slow down. Form a plan. Be patient with yourself. You give yourself a hard time even when you succeed. Appreciate your triumphs, and learn from your failures."</p><p>Hiro had to force himself to breath. He had been hanging on her every word. It was sort of creepy how much she was getting right, and she hadn't even gotten past the first card. He forced himself to look back down at the table and to the right. "Does that mean her card is bad, too?"</p><p>Clea let out a loud laugh. "Hiro, you are assuming that cards in the reversed position are bad. I assure you that I have done enough of these readings to know that is not always the case. I normally try to find some sort of positive when it comes to the reverse. Like so."</p><p>Her fingers traced the outline of the rightmost card.</p><p>"You see how normally, the rabbit on this card is at the bottom?"</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>"It represents energy, but with caution. Because as successful as the Queen is, she must always look where she's going to avoid the pitfalls. As it is reversed, the rabbit is at the top. Those worries are now hanging over her "head". All of her decisions about the future are clouding her judgment and leave her unable to enjoy the present. She is a hard worker, much like you (she nodded to the left), but unlike you, she cannot enjoy the success she has earned. Her mind is caught up with what could happen, and she cannot properly take care of herself. Tell me...has this person had a recent health scare? You do not have to go into detail."</p><p>"Umm." Hiro's mind flashed back to the monster grabbing him by the waist, her roar almost puncturing his eardrums. "Yeah. She's...she's been through a few things."</p><p>"I see," Clea said. "Then she should think about adjusting some things so that those misfortunes don't repeat themselves."</p><p><em>Like making sure Di can't get out of jail,</em> he thought.</p><p>This was not going the way he had wanted. He was struggling to find something positive, but everything he had heard so far was very bleak.</p><p>Not to mention correct. But he wasn't trying to focus on that.</p><p>"You seem disappointed, Hiro."</p><p>He saw her concerned expression and rubbed his temples. "I just wasn't expecting things to be so...negative."</p><p>"Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it negative. I would categorize it as...stubbornness." Clean pointed to the end cards. "The two of you are very set in your ways. Rigid. Pentacle cards correlate to the element of Earth, so that makes sense. But there is something I see that gives me great hope for you and your other."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>She reached out and grabbed the middle card, offering it to Hiro. He took it in his hand and looked at it.</p><p>"The Knight of Pentacles."</p><p>Clea looked out the window, watching the rain fall. "No matter what suit the Knight has, it is the Court Card that is associated with the element of Fire. It represents passion. That fire you have within yourselves will be harnessed at the right time. Yes, just like all of the other Pentacles, he is also stubborn. But out of all of the Knights, he is the most loyal. You would do anything to not let her down, and she for you."</p><p>Hiro's heart started to beat a little faster.</p><p>"Your relationship may not be particularly exciting, and there may be moments where you have trouble showing your emotions, but it is steady. It is strong. It makes the trust that you have in each other all the more remarkable."</p><p>She pushed the two cards that were still on the table together.</p><p>"Because I see two people that have had many things thrown at them, including each other. I see the many difficulties that each of you have had to endure. But through those difficulties, and against almost all odds, you've managed to form a bond that, with a little more work, could prove to be unbreakable."</p><p>His finger rubbed the top of the card.</p><p>"Hiro, at the beginning of this reading, you wished to know what my thoughts were about your relationship. If you don't mind, I would like to give them to you."</p><p>"OK," he whispered. All of his energy felt like it had been drained.</p><p>Clean put the tips of her fingers on her mouth, palms clapped together. It looked like she was thinking rather hard about what to say. She was also blinking rapidly. It was almost like she was trying to fight back her emotions.</p><p>"Your relationship does not suffer from lack of knowledge. Monetarily, and also cognitively, you have that. You <em>both</em> have that. But I would say that the greatest obstacle that it faces is not each other."</p><p>Hiro's eyes widened.</p><p>"It's yourselves."</p><p>She had the two cards in her hand. She wiggled the left one. "<em>You</em> must focus. Take your time. Prioritize." She shook the right one. "<em>She</em> must not let the future overtake her. Both of you must tend to yourselves and fix the things you can control. And if you do..."</p><p>Clea gingerly plucked the card out of Hiro's hands, slotting it in over the other two.</p><p>"Your already strong bond will be one that will last a lifetime."</p><p>The silence hung in the air for a good thirty seconds while Hiro digested everything she had said. Not even Aunt Cass knew that much about Karmi, so how did Clea-</p><p>"Here."</p><p>The woman offered a tissue to him, and Hiro realized he had been crying. He clumsily grabbed at it and started dabbing his eyes. "Sorry," he muttered.</p><p>"There is no need to apologize. Rarely do I see such a strong emotion come from one of my readings." Clea crossed her legs in front of her. "Most of my patrons either want to know when they will win the lottery or find the love of their life. Many leave it at that. You genuinely wished for knowledge, with no thought about your own self. That means that you care. Not just for yourself, but for your other."</p><p>Hiro looked out the window, desperate to see something else, and saw that the rain had let up. Clea turned off the lamp, and the light inside dimmed enough for him to see everything outside. He got up and peered down to see Aunt Cass next to the truck and talking to a giant burly man. A tow truck was parked right behind, its hook ready to be fastened to the bumper.</p><p>"It already appears your fortune is turning around. Perhaps a lottery ticket is in your future?"</p><p>He glanced up at the woman behind her.</p><p>"Right. Age and whatnot. Don't mention that to your aunt."</p><p>Hiro's phone vibrated, and he quickly grabbed it to see Aunt Cass had texted him a thumbs-up emoji.</p><p>"Looks like she's ready. I guess I should be going." Hiro turned to walk away, but noticed something in the top right corner of the phone screen.</p><p>"Wait." He looked back at Clea. "Did you...charge my phone?"</p><p>"With magic."</p><p>He recoiled back, but Clea was already grinning. "You must have had your phone on your coaster. They double as device chargers. But do not tell anyone. Industry secret."</p><p>"Heh. Thanks."</p><p>"Hiro."</p><p>He felt her hand come down on his shoulder, her shawl lightly grazing his forearm. The air itself seemed to shift as Clea started talking again.</p><p>"The thing to remember about fortunes is that they are not set in stone. Only you are capable of determining your fate. While I may be gifted in seeing the future, that is the extent of my talent. I can see it, but I cannot bring you there. That is a task that belongs to you."</p><p>She took a step back and folded her arms over her body. "Have a good evening, Hiro. Safe travels."</p><p>Hiro slowly walked down out of her sight. Content, she walked back over to the table and collected everyone's cups, taking them into the kitchen.</p><p>By the time she got back out to the living room, Hiro had already rejoined his aunt. Before jumping into the back of the tow truck, both Hiro and Aunt Cass waved up to her, which she reciprocated. As the truck drove off, Clea smiled at the fleeting taillights.</p><p>"I hope that you find what you are looking for, Hiro…"</p><p>Her finger traced the outline of Sofia's picture frame.</p><p>"I know I did."</p><p>She turned her pendant around to the other side, and instead of a matching set of circles there, it was a different symbol. It was a set of lines interconnected with each other, all curved in different directions...</p><p>The same symbol that adorned the building that she called home all those years ago.</p><p>"But I pray that you don't make the same mistakes that I did to get there."</p>
<hr/><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: </strong>More Marvel cameos? Check.</p><p>A larger amount of Hiro/Karmi than Chapter 1? Check.</p><p>References to other Disney properties? Check.</p><p>Characters that may or may not show up in the future, especially the far future when everyone is older?</p><p>...Check.</p><p>Oh, and Riorleans is Rio and New Orleans. Party city for party animals.</p><p>This whole chapter came up because I was doing reading with my own Tarot deck, and I got this <em>exact</em> one for myself. It fit <em>way</em> too well to just let go. One thing led to another, and that brought Clea along. This chapter was a fun one to do, especially with the divination thrown in. I <em>do</em> believe in that sort of thing a fair bit (unlike Hiro), so anytime I get to write about it is a fun one. Clea and Stephen have a somewhat checkered history in the comics, and one continuity even conceived a child for them.</p><p>Or for her, rather. Stephen doesn't know about Sofia in the comics. Magically shielded and living with her nanny in New Orleans. Wonder if that's ever going to rear its head later...</p><p>There's only one chapter left in this short series, and this one will be a doozy. In order to achieve wellness, we have three categories to look at. We've already done the mind with Stephen and the body with Clea. Now it's time for the spirit.</p><p>With you-know-who.</p><p>...No, not Sofia. Hiro's girl.</p><p>The final chapter, The Spirit Within, will be up next week. Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Spirit Within</h2></a>
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  <em><strong>Disclaimer: </strong>Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. There will be no third member of the Strange family in this chapter, but I don't own them either.</em>
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        <strong>Chapter 3 - The Spirit Within (Finale)</strong>
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</p><p>"So what did you do today?"</p><p>"I went out with everyone to the comic store. Fred bought a bunch of stuff. Go Go found the time to make fun of him and hide from Mole in the aisles. I don't even know why she came with us, but she seemed to have fun. He even found a manga for Honey Lemon that she hadn't read yet." He laughed quietly. "Who would've known that Honey Lemon read manga in her spare time?"</p><p>"That's a new one. What else?"</p><p>Midnight is normally the time where people do constructive things. Like...sleep. And dream.</p><p>"We went on patrol. Things have been quiet ever since the end of the semester. Trina broke out again, but for a giant girl in a robot body, she's done a good job at hiding. But we'll find her."</p><p>"Mmm."</p><p>Those were two things that he hadn't gotten enough of over the past few weeks.</p><p>"I thought about you again today."</p><p>"Did you?"</p><p>"Yeah." He ran his fingers over the bed sheet. "And I didn't even say anything to any of the others this time."</p><p>"Aww, no slip of the tongue?"</p><p>So much so that he thought he was going crazy.</p><p>...The jury's still out on that one, though.</p><p>At least the conversation he was having was calming his nerves a bit.</p><p>"Is that all you did?"</p><p>With you-know-who.</p><p>Hiro went back to looking at her face. Her brown eyes were still staring back into his. Her thumb rubbed on his chest as it rose and fell with his breathing. Her chin was resting upon her hands, the rest of her body disappearing somewhere behind her.</p><p>"...No."</p><p>"No need to be all mysterious with me, Genius Boy. What did you do?"</p><p>He sighed. He wasn't going to get out of this one. "Since the last time you were here, I went to see the doctor at school again. I didn't tell Aunt Cass."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"I'm not sure," Hiro admitted. "I don't want her to know that I'm still seeing him just yet."</p><p>"I think she would want to know that you're getting help."</p><p>"Yeah. Probably."</p><p>The two went silent for a bit, Hiro listening to the raindrops hitting the window. The storm outside wasn't one that came out of the blue like the one that hit him during their trip back from the festival, but the weather always seemed to do that whenever she showed up.</p><p>"What did you guys talk about?"</p><p>"I don't know why you're asking," Hiro retorted. "You already know."</p><p>"Enlighten me."</p><p>He looked back out the window, the storm picking up steam. "We talked about Tadashi some more. A little about school."</p><p>"Mmhmm?"</p><p>"And a little bit about you."</p><p>"Oh?" She leaned her head in a bit more. "I didn't know that I was such a leading lady in your life."</p><p>See, this was the problem with her showing up a lot of the time. She would lay in his bed at night, and he would be compelled to tell her every event that happened.</p><p>Not that he minded, really. It was the only way he could see her.</p><p>"I didn't say <em>that</em> much about you. Just that I missed you. And that I wished I could see you again."</p><p>"Awww. That's adorable," she cooed. "And you say you're not a romantic guy."</p><p>"I'm <em>not</em>."</p><p>
  <em>"Hiro."<br/></em>
</p><p>The boy genius snapped up in bed to see Baymax's eyes staring in his direction. Apparently he had finished charging in his case, and just woke up from his sleep mode. His head swiveled around to the sides before refocusing back on Hiro. <em>"Are you talking to someone?"</em></p><p>"Umm...no." Hiro smoothed out his pajama shirt. "What makes you think that?"</p><p>"<em>I finished the process of charging and I heard you speaking out loud. Were you having a conversation with someone?"<br/></em></p><p>He had to think fast on this one. "I was...just...talking to myself."</p><p>Baymax blinked at him.</p><p>"I was just having a dream. Must have gotten carried away. Nothing to worry about, Baymax."</p><p>"<em>Are you certain?"<br/></em></p><p>"Baymax." Hiro made his voice more firm. "I'm fine. Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."</p><p>"<em>Very well. Have a good night."</em></p><p>He laid back in bed as Baymax shut down in his charger. That was <em>way</em> too close. The last thing that he needed was his healthcare companion trying to diagnose him with some sort of manic disorder in the middle of the night.</p><p>"He almost got you there."</p><p>Hiro turned his head to see the girl back in his vision, now lying directly to his left. One of her tank top straps was hanging off of her shoulder, and her bangs were partially hiding her left eye.</p><p>He didn't want to think about how attractive she looked.</p><p>Or maybe he <em>did</em> want to.</p><p>"Genius Boy, this isn't healthy. You know that. You need to tell someone."</p><p>Maybe he could play dumb. "Tell someone what?"</p><p>She effortlessly climbed back up onto Hiro. It was almost like she was lighter than air; there was no contact between her body and his.</p><p>Perhaps that was because she wasn't really there.</p><p>"...That I've been a figment of your imagination ever since I left."</p><p>She ran a finger down his neck, Hiro desperately trying to remember what it felt like.</p><p>"That for the past few weeks, your brain has constructed a near-perfect hallucination of me, right down to the little details. The ones that your brain is attempting to hang on to. Your aunt almost caught you a week ago, right after you went to the doctor for the first time. She passed it off as a nightmare, but you know better."</p><p>His gaze went up to the dragon above his bed.</p><p>"Genius Boy."</p><p>Her head lifted up to talk to him again.</p><p>"This is not good. You know that. But you're being stubborn, as always. You can't let this go. You can't let <em>me</em> go. And it's messing with your brain. It's messing with your sleep. And it's going to hurt you if you don't do something about it."</p><p>Now he was avoiding her eyes.</p><p>"She's right, you know."</p><p>Both of them turned towards the left side of the bed to see a person sitting in the window seat. He was twirling one of Hiro's action figures between his finger and the cushion. He had his legs crossed as he looked out the window behind him.</p><p>"I never thought I would see the day where you'd have a girl in your bed with you, little bro."</p><p>Hiro sighed, nestling his face further into the pillow. "You're not helping, Tadashi."</p><p>"I'm trying to, Hiro." He set the figure back down as he got up from the seat. "It used to be that you imagined me being in here. I guess I'm not good enough for you any more?"</p><p><em>Now </em>his head was starting to hurt.</p><p>"OK, <em>that</em> one was meant to tease you. But that's the last time, I swear."</p><p>He put his hand on Hiro's forehead. "Hiro, it took a long time, but you eventually got better with me. It's going to happen with her as well. But you can't keep doing this to yourself. Your brain is going to rot away to nothing. And you have a lot of people out there that depend on you. So, you need to do what's best for you."</p><p>"I keep telling him that," she added. "But he won't listen to me."</p><p>Great. Now her aberration was having a conversation with <em>his </em>aberration. This entire evening was snowballing very quickly.</p><p>"Yeah, he's headstrong like that." Tadashi took a step back. "But he's a good kid. And he only wants what's best for you." He took another look at his brother, who was staring at him with watery eyes. "Sorry that I couldn't stay longer, little bro. But she's got this. And you do, too. Don't forget that."</p><p>Hiro had to look away. Seeing his brother was too much. It was true that he used to imagine him in his room, still walking around like the old days. But as he started attending classes at SFIT and hanging out with his friends (not to mention bringing Professor Callaghan to justice), he was able to make peace with his passing. That's when the hallucinations stopped.</p><p>"He's gone, Hiro."</p><p>And this was apparently when they started again.</p><p>He turned back to see an empty window seat. She was also looking that way, her smile gone and her eyes sad. She softly set her head onto Hiro's chest. "I can feel your heart beating really fast. Is that because of me or him?"</p><p>She rubbed her cheek on his shirt.</p><p>"Or both of us?"</p><p>Hiro's heart rate was shooting up to painful levels. This happened every time she showed up. It was all too common of an occurrence. But he couldn't let her go.</p><p>He had to try, though. And that started by saying her name out loud.</p><p>"Karmi."</p><p>There she was again, back in his sights. She slightly smiled as she responded.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>Hiro tried to steady his breathing.</p><p>"I miss you."</p><p>"I know." Her chin was again on his chest. He could almost feel it this time.</p><p>"And I really want to see you again."</p><p>"I know you do. I do, too."</p><p>He took a deep breath. This would be the part that would be difficult to get through.</p><p>"Karmi."</p><p>The girl tilted her head to the side, wondering what was going to come out of his mouth next.</p><p>"I...I lo-"</p><p>"Don't."</p><p>Her finger came down on his mouth to cut him off. If he thought really hard, he could make it seem real-</p><p>"Don't say something you don't mean, Genius Boy."</p><p>"What?" He wrenched his mouth away. "I-I do mean it."</p><p>"No. No you don't." Karmi stared him down. "Because if you did mean it, you would say it to my face."</p><p>She motioned her hand all around her head.</p><p>"And not the face your mind is making to appease itself. My actual, <em>real</em> face."</p><p>Hiro frowned. Why did she have to be right all of the time?</p><p>"Because I <em>am </em>right all of the time."</p><p>Oh yeah. The whole mind thing.</p><p>Karmi's hands came down on both sides of his head. She was now an inch away from his face, a few strands of hair dangling over her forehead.</p><p>"Hiro...we <em>are </em>going to see each other again. I know it. There's going to be a day in the future where we're going to run into each other. Maybe it'll be at school, maybe it'll be here, or maybe it'll be just out in the wild somewhere. But you'll see me, and I'll see you. We'll say hello to each other, and we'll go from there."</p><p>She paused for a second, just long enough for him to hear his heart again.</p><p>"And everything that's happened since I've gone (she rotated her finger in the air) will seem inconsequential. The going-away party, Peni, me coming back, our day in the park, me calling you after you ran away….it will be like none of that ever happened. You'll be OK, Hiro. <em>We'll</em> be OK. But it has to start now."</p><p>She leaned in even closer, their lips almost together.</p><p>"You need to get some sleep. Promise me you'll try, OK?"</p><p>He couldn't.</p><p>"Hiro. Please. Do it. For me."</p><p>His eyelids started getting heavy.</p><p>"There we go. You're almost there."</p><p>Karmi's head went down to his left, right where it was when she spent the night in his bed. His hand tried searching for hers, only to come up empty.</p><p>"Karmi?"</p><p>A couple of seconds passed before she responded.</p><p>"Hiro?"</p><p>"Can you…" His eyes were entirely closed now, but he still had something to ask. "Can you stay for a little longer? Just for tonight?"</p><p>He thought he felt the mattress shift under his weight.</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>That was the last thing Hiro heard before he finally went to sleep. All of the pain, all of the tired thoughts, all of the aberrations. They all went away, if just temporarily.</p><p>And as the last section of his brain shut down for the night, he pulled his arm closer to his body...dragging the miniature Karmi doll up to his chest, the smell of her shampoo lulling him into a state of unconsciousness.</p><p>The Karmi doll that had been on the window seat just minutes ago.</p><hr/><p>"<em>For the record, Karmi, I want to tell you that I still don't think this is a good idea."</em></p><p>"<em>But Honey Lemon, you agreed to do it."</em></p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, I did. But something about this just seems...creepy."<br/></em>
</p><p>Karmi slouched down in her chair as the conversation came rolling back into her brain.</p><p>"<em>Honey Lemon, I'm not doing it to spy on him. I...just want to make sure he's OK."<br/></em></p><p>"<em>You can do that without cameras, Karmi. You can </em><em><strong>call</strong></em><em> him. You can go </em><em><strong>see</strong></em><em> him. There are several things you can do."</em></p><p>
  <em>"I...I can't do those."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Why not?"</em>
</p><p>She remembered the look the Latina had given her over the phone, the size of the screen not hiding the tremendous amount of concern on her face.</p><p>"<em>Karmi, it has nothing to do with being secluded or anything like that...does it?"</em></p><p>
  <em>She looked down, away from her phone.</em>
</p><p>"<em>You just can't handle seeing him right now."<br/></em></p><p>"<em>Honey Lemon." She lowered her voice; she could hear her parents moving around in the hallway and didn't want them to overhear. "It's just better this way for him. If I have to go somewhere else after everything...I don't know if he could take it. This way, he can work on getting himself better if I come back."</em></p><p>
  <em>"You still don't know whether you'll be back?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Karmi glanced over at the door.</em>
</p><p>"<em>It's OK, Karmi. You don't have to explain anything. I understand."<br/></em></p><p>"<em>You do?"</em></p><p>
  <em>"No," Honey Lemon said, a sweatdrop on her forehead. "But I like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to affairs of the heart." She reached out of frame to something on her computer desk. "Which is why I have this for you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Karmi looked up to see the near-finished plush doll she had her commission. It was almost complete, save for the black hair that was needed for the head. In her other hand was a small black disc, probably about the size of a dime.</em>
</p><p>"<em>I'm going to put this behind the right eye," Honey Lemon said, pointing to the button. "It'll let you listen in, and it has a limited lens on the filter side, but it has to be manually activated. I'll send you the program when I done with it."</em></p><p>
  <em>"Thanks, Honey Lemon."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But listen to me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her voice shifted to the familiar mom tone that was always associated with her, so Karmi put her full attention on her phone.</em>
</p><p>"<em>The battery has a very limited charge, so you won't be able to use it all the time. And once it's out, that's it. You can't do anything about it."</em></p><p>
  <em>Karmi simply nodded.</em>
</p><p>"<em>I'm not going to ask what's going on with you. You have a right to your privacy, and I'm not going to pry like Go Go would." Honey Lemon turned to her apartment door, half expecting the Korean to show up. "<strong>But</strong>...when all of this is over, you owe Hiro the truth. I know that you're not doing all of this to hurt him, but this can all go very badly. Do you understand?"<br/></em></p><p>"<em>Yeah. I do."<br/></em></p><p>That's where the conversation had ended, Honey Lemon signing off with the promise that she'd have her commission done within the next day. It had shown up as promised, looking as impeccable as she had pictured it: the red t-shirt, the blue hoodie, the jean shorts, the tuft of black hair that Aunt Cass had cut off and sent to Honey Lemon to fasten to the head.</p><p>It was perfect.</p><p>And her finger was right over her Enter key, ready to turn it off.</p><p>...Too bad it had been like that for the past five minutes.</p><p>This <em>was</em> wrong. This wasn't right. It would be so much simpler to just pick up the phone, call him, and see his face again through the phone and not a tiny camera...</p><p>But what would she say?</p><p>What would she do?</p><p>Break down? Cry out for him? See his face contort into the look of pain that only she could imagine him doing?</p><p>Something had to be done.</p><p>She'd listen to a tiny bit. That's all. He'd probably be asleep, anyway. A few breaths out of his mouth, and she'd be content.</p><p>And then maybe Karmi would be able to go to sleep.</p><p>She pressed the button on her computer, and for a few seconds, she heard nothing. Maybe the battery had died out already. The window that had popped up was pitch black, meaning that the camera was flush against some surface.</p><p>"<em>Karmi?"</em></p><p>She gasped. It was him. It was his voice. But it sounded distant. Sleep. It <em>was</em> almost midnight, which meant...</p><p>Was he...dreaming about her?</p><p>Karmi leaned into the computer, hoping, praying, that he would say something else. But a few seconds passed in silence. So, against her better judgment, and even though it wasn't both ways, Karmi opened her mouth.</p><p>"Hiro?"</p><p>His breathing was slower, more rhythmic. It did sound like he was just about to fall asleep. But the way he said her name...it was like he was talking straight to her.</p><p>"<em>Can you..."</em></p><p>Karmi's nose almost hit the screen.</p><p>"<em>Can you stay for a little longer? Just for tonight?"</em></p><p>Her finger smacked down on the keyboard, cutting off the feed.</p><p>No. She couldn't do this. Not again. It had been bad enough before when she kidded herself into thinking she was doing what's right. But now things were different. They were different between them.</p><p>"Karmi?"</p><p>A voice came from the other side of her closed door. Karmi realized that there were tears flowing down her face and quickly wiped them away, shutting her computer off. "Yeah?"</p><p>"Are you still up? Should you not be in bed by now?"</p><p>"In a minute. I'm just...finishing something."</p><p>The knob turned, and in walked Karmi's mom, her bright turquoise dress popping against the pinks of her bedroom. She pulled her headscarf down and smoothed out her hair, noticing her daughter's eyes. "Is everything OK?"</p><p>"I'm fine."</p><p>"Hmm." She took note of the closed laptop. "Were you talking to your friends again?"</p><p>"Sort of."</p><p>"I am sure that they are delighted to hear from you."</p><p>Karmi said nothing, walking over to her bed and getting ready to dive under the covers.</p><p>"Sweetheart."</p><p>She turned her body to face her mom, who ran her thumb over her cheeks to wipe away the remaining moisture. "I know that it is hard for you to live like this. Away from school. Away from your friends. But I hope that we do not have to keep you away for too much longer."</p><p>"That's what you keep saying," Karmi mumbled. "Mom, when is all of this going to end? When am I going to go back?"</p><p>The woman shook her head sadly. "I...I do not know. You know how your father is. He wants to make sure everything is picture perfect for you."</p><p>Karmi smushed her cheek into the pillow.</p><p>"I know that you are frustrated. I am, too. But we are going to persevere, Karmi. And once we do, you can go back to being normal."</p><p>"I"m not normal. We've already established this."</p><p>Her mom chuckled. "Yes. How silly of me to believe that having a sixteen-year-old daughter who is a genius is anything but normal." She stood up and reached over her daughter's body at the pile of plushies against the wall. "Get some rest, Karmi. You have a long day ahead of you to-"</p><p>She got cut off, but she couldn't see her face. "What's wrong, Mom?"</p><p>"Nothing. I was just not aware that you had added another doll to your collection."</p><p>Karmi looked up, and she was horrified to see her mom now had the plush Hiro in her hand. She thought she had hidden it well enough behind her other ones, but apparently not. The older Khan tilted its head around, noting the details on it. "This is very exquisite, Karmi. Where is this particular person from?"</p><p>"Ummm...it's a character from a cartoon. I started watching it recently."</p><p>"Oh really?" The woman brushed her finger over the hair. "Does this character have a name?"</p><p>"It does."</p><p>Silence.</p><p>"...You see, Karmi, this is where you tell me the name of the boy that you are fawning over instead of giving me a poor attempt at a lie."</p><p>Her face was now fully in the pillow, her cheeks burning. "It's not like that, Mom."</p><p>"Yes, I suppose that it is natural for your teenage daughter to have a caricature of their classmate laying in their bed with them."</p><p>The pillow case was going to catch on fire at this rate.</p><p>Content with her interrogation, she slotted the doll in between her daughter's arms, kissing her softly on the forehead. "I will tell no one, Karmi. I can already imagine what your father would say about this, but we will leave that for another time." She walked over to the door, leaving it open just a crack for her head to duck back in. "We have an early day at the courthouse tomorrow, so try to get some sleep, OK?"</p><p>"OK."</p><p>"<em>Shab bakhair, choota phool."</em></p><p>"Good night, Mom."</p><p>The lights went off and the door clicked shut. Karmi was now on her own, Little Hiro right next to her. She still hadn't come up with a better name for him. She wasn't sure that she wanted to.</p><p>Karmi sniffed loudly, trying to lull herself off to sleep. But her brain was too jumbled, too full of thoughts. She wasn't getting any shut-eye at this rate.</p><p>"Need some help?"</p><p>"I don't."</p><p>"Yeah, that's what you always say. But everything always comes back to me, doesn't it?"</p><p>There he was again. Just like before.</p><p>Just like the past few nights.</p><p>Her eyes opened, and it was like she was staring back at herself. It was the same color as her own, but the messy black hair and pale complexion were most definitely not hers. The pajama shirt hung loosely over his body, and the rest of him disappeared somewhere under the covers.</p><p>"Hey, Karmi."</p><p>Karmi smiled, the single tear falling down her cheek and into the pillow.</p><p>"...Hi, Hiro."</p><p>
  <em>THE END</em>
</p><hr/><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:</strong> If this one doesn't make you tear up a little bit, I haven't done my job properly.</p><p>Pain and loss and suffering and feelings go both ways. It's not just Hiro, people.</p><p>This little mini-series took a lot out of me. It reminds me a fair bit of what I've had to go through in my own personal life, with therapy and significant others and whatnot. And no, I'm not going to go into further detail when it comes to that. Some things just weren't meant to be shared.</p><p>This is also going to serve as a sort of "buffer" for when the show returns. When Karmi comes back (and she will), nothing of what happened that I've written between "City of Monsters, Pt. 2" and her arrival in Season 3 will have happened. There will be no tearful reunion or anything like that. It would be, as I mentioned in the story, as if they're starting off on a clean slate.</p><p>The problem will be somehow incorporating that into what I plan on writing in the future.</p><p>A big thanks to everyone who's reviewed, left kudos, or commented on this story. I've had a lot of solid feedback, and I'm going to take it with me for my future Hiro/Karmi fics.</p><p>But for now...we have a sixth member of Beta Hero 6 to reveal.</p><p><strong>The Straight and Arrow</strong> is tentatively scheduled to start next week. I hope to see everyone there.</p><p>Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.</p>
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